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Friday, March 18, 2005

PlaybillArts: News: New York State Issues Final Audit of Saratoga Performing Arts Center: "The New York State parks department has released the final version of its audit of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
The audit was prompted last year when the arts center announced that it would end the New York City Ballet's annual residencies. The preliminary version of the audit, released in November, criticized that decision (which was eventually rescinded), along with the center's fundraising, the 'excessive' compensation of longtime president Herbert Chesbrough, and various management practices. "

CHAUSA: Catholic Health World: "White House sets priorities for faith-based initiativeWASHINGTON, DC�The White House announced its top priorities for working with faith-based organizations during the recent Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Leadership Conference.CHA staff members were among the several hundred participants from national and local faith-based organizations who participated in the conference along with members of Congress and officials from the United States Departments of Health and Human Services and Education"

State accuses charity of identity theft: "March 17, 2005BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff ReporterIn a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Illinois attorney general's office alleged that a Downstate charity stole the identity of a failed Harvey charity in order to claim the assets and property of the defunct organization as its own."

LITTLE ROCK -- A bill granting a state sales tax exemption to build a $30 million art museum to house a collection worth at least $100 million in Northwest Arkansas passed the House Revenue and Taxation Committee in minutes on Tuesday.

Rep. Horace Hardwick, R-Bentonville, had recruited 16 of the committee's 20 members as co-sponsors of his House Bill 2480. He said Tuesday his bill has 75 sponsors, including a majority in the House and at least 14 of the state's 35 senators. He also said he has enough commitments from additional senators to assure the bill's passage.

Rutgers-Newark forms center to assist state's nonprofits: "Rutgers-Newark forms center to assist state's nonprofits
Will offer courses, research, consulting
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
BY PEGGY McGLONE
Star-Ledger Staff
In an era of increased government oversight and decreased public confidence, nonprofit corporation leaders have a new resource at Rutgers University-Newark.
At a conference yesterday, the school announced the formation of an academic center that will offer courses, research and consulting services to help nonprofits weather these challenging times. Housed in the School of Business, the new Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership is intended to strengthen, study and support the state's active nonprofit sector, which includes more than 25,000 health care, educational, arts and social service agencies, as well as foundations that fund their work. "

Probe of Abramoff and Nonprofits' Money Opens (washingtonpost.com): "Probe of Abramoff and Nonprofits' Money Opens
Senate Finance Committee Seeks Records on Trips by Reps. DeLay and Ney, Donations to Indian Tribes
By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 17, 2005; Page A04
The Senate Finance Committee yesterday opened an investigation into allegations that lobbyist Jack Abramoff used nonprofit organizations to pay for a variety of improper activities, including overseas trips for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) and another Republican lawmaker.
Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), the panel's top Democrat, faxed a letter to Abramoff's attorney seeking information from the Capital Athletic Foundation, a charity he created. The committee wants financial records and receipts for travel, which would include a 2002 trip to Scotland by House Administration Committee Chairman Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and lobbyist and former "

National Post: "Charity parties are turning over-toyed tykes into philanthropists

Eileen TraversNational PostMarch 16, 20051 2 NEXT >>

CREDIT: Peter Redman, National PostNicole Swadron with her sons, five-year-old Luke and 2 1/2-year-old Dean. Luke donated the 45 presents he received for his fifth birthday to charity. 'I gave them to people who don't have toys,' he said. 'They don't get to go to parties. It's much funner to play with toys I have already.'

When Nicole Swadron planned her son Luke's fifth birthday party, she suggested donating the presents to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Luke had met some children at the hospital, so he was on board."

Rocky Mountain News: Business: "Charities in line for more oversightCongress prepares to set rules aimed at cleaning up sectorBy Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain NewsMarch 18, 2005Denver's largest charitable foundation until recently leased a jet from a company with close ties to the organization's chairman.The Daniels Fund whisked its board members around the country on the plane for four years and stopped the practice only after discovering that the arrangement may have run afoul of the law. The nonprofit group disclosed the matter in its most recently filed tax form. "

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Ithaca TimesWomen in Tompkins County have always been philanthropists, although few would have called themselves that. Few in the community would have thought about them in that way either, during the 19th century, women were, for the most part, without legal rights or powers. Nevertheless, women brought food to the needy; they nursed the sick; they gave what money they had to religious organizations

ATLANTA, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- OverTime Magazine, Inc. (OT Magazine), the business and lifestyle guide for professional athletes, announced today the finalists for the first annual OT 10 Awards. The awards will celebrate the achievements of current and retired professional athletes in their business and philanthropic "

Topic General FundraisingUnited Way of America (UWA) released a report showing the impact on charitable giving of a proposal that would allow people who do not itemize their federal income taxes (more than two-thirds of American taxpayers) to receive the same benefit for making contributions to charity as those who do itemize.The CARE Act (Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment Act) was recently re-introduced in the Senate by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and includes the non-itemizer provision. Similar House of Representatives legislation is expected to be re-introduced in the coming weeks.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Art Bushkin doesn't 'know much about saving children, saving the whales or saving the environment.' But for all he knows, those using his network are doing just that.

'Stargazer is an online service for social good. We don't define what the social good is,' Bushkin said of the Fairfax-based charity he began about six years ago. He anticipated things like teachers across the world sharing lesson plans"

As the executive director of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of the Piedmont, a nonprofit organization with offices in Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Burlington, she knows that future funds depend on how much the public and the government trust their handling of current finances.
During the post Sarbanes-Oxley Act era of increased corporate accountability, executive directors like Robinson say it's good to see public companies adhering to accountability standards that most nonprofits have followed for years."

Profiting from nonprofit know-how - 2005-03-14: "Profiting from nonprofit know-how
Talk about community service: Our region's nonprofit sector is a formidable force of job creation and support. Let's learn from it.
An interesting piece of research was released in the region a few weeks ago.

Commissioned by the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and conducted by Johns Hopkins University and the Urban Institute, the study looked at the economic impact the nonprofit sector provides to the region.
The results were impressive: "

By Ian Wilhelm
As the stock market grew steadily for the second consecutive year in 2004, the assets of many of the nation's wealthiest private foundations increased modestly, a new Chronicle survey has found."

Whoever said "nice guys finish last" certainly hasn't met the inimitable James Campo. The Sewall's Point resident, who is a certified financial planner and president of Campo Insurance and Investment Services in Stuart, dedicates his time and talent to the community.

"I live a fortunate life," Campo said. "It is not only my choice, but my responsibility to help the less-fortunate and to better this community, which has been such a blessing for me and my family."

Because of his commitment to the community, he recently was honored with the Outstanding Philanthropic Leadership Award at the ninth annual Arthur E. Turner Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards program at the Turner Education Center on the West Palm Beach campus of Northwood University. Campo, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Treasure Coast chapter, regularly meets with nonprofit organizations and has helped them raise $50 million through the Planned Giving Council's Leave A Legacy program — a program that educates the public on the benefits of estate planning.

HoustonChronicle.com - Bush working to fund 'armies of compassion': "Bush working to fund 'armies of compassion'
Executive order used on behalf of faith-based groups
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - The city council of Janesville, Wis., said last year that it would approve federal funds for a Salvation Army housing project only if plans for Bible study there were abandoned.
ADVERTISEMENT

In response, the Bush administration swung into action.
Federal housing officials informed the city that taxpayer dollars could be spent on the project for the homeless as long as religious services were voluntary. So the council awarded a $250,000 grant to the Salvation Army without stipulations.
President Bush recently seized on the city's reversal as evidence of his determination to give so-called faith-based groups a better shot at government funding."

The Seattle Times: Opinion: Faith-based whistle-blowing: "Faith-based whistle-blowing
Neal Peirce / Syndicated columnist
The Rev. Jim Dickerson is founder and pastor of the New Community Church, a highly active, interracial congregation in Washington's inner city. He should be a perfect candidate for George Bush's faith-based initiative, a soldier in the president's 'army of compassion.'
The Manna Community Development Corporation Dickerson founded in the 1980s has renovated or built an amazing total of 850 units of homeownership housing along once drug- and crime-infested streets. The effort has not only helped revive the long-depressed, historically African-American Shaw and Columbia Heights neighborhoods but created $50 million in equity for low-income families. "

TheWBALChannel.com - News - Selma Marchers Call For Extension Of Voting Rights Act:
snip snip
"Among thousands on hand was singer Harry Belafonte, who took part in the march 40 years ago, and a daughter of President Lyndon Johnson, who signed the Voting Rights Act into law.
Lewis said, while the president signed the measure into law, it 'was written by the people of Selma.'
March veterans and organizers wanted the 40th anniversary "

Podcasting for nonprofits: 'Next big thing,' or merely 'flavor of the month?'
Perhaps it's a matter of cognitive style. I tend to be a visual learner, preferring text and graphics to audio input,* so I feel under-qualified to judge whether mission-based organizations should invest their resources in podcasting.

Although I'm a techie, I have an odd streak of Luddism when it comes to new media. I may turn out to be immune to the charm of podcasting, but that would not surprise my loved ones, in that I stopped watching television in the late 1970s.

However, in theory, I do like the idea of enabling individuals and organizations to be audio broadcasters, operating independently of traditional gatekeepers such as major networks"

NonStarving Artists - Americans for the Arts and Arts & Business Council to Merge Operations: "Americans for the Arts and Arts & Business Council to Merge OperationsSend this Article (United States-Washington DC) The resources and programming initiatives of both organizations will be combined into a powerful integrated operation. It will stimulate increased support for the arts from individuals, corporations, and foundations through the development of innovative programming and the recruitment of national partners. This will happen not only by formal design but also as a direct result of uniting the constituencies of Americans for the Arts and Arts & Business Council Inc. Among these stakeholders are some 4,000 local arts agencies and united arts funds (Americans for the Arts) and the affiliates and national program partners (Arts & Business Council Inc.) that together will have improved tools to advance support for the arts.

Becca's Closet is opening the doors of its Pompano Beach headquarters today for prom season, but the Broward-born organization is touching lives far beyond South Florida.More than 70 chapters of the charity, which provides formal wear for teens who could not otherwise afford such attire, have opened around the world, including locations in London, the Bahamas, Singapore and in 27 states."

Rocky Mountain News: Business: "A will or no way?By John Accola, Rocky Mountain NewsMarch 12, 2005SAN DIEGO - When it came to parceling out his fortune, Joe Coors Sr. acted methodically. Well-lawyered documents and trusts, each with its own quirks and terms of endearment, spelled out his wishes as early as 1988.But in March 2003, the retired Colorado beer mogul and renowned bankroller of conservative causes was fading fast from lymphoma and renal failure. Eight days before his death, the 85-year-old Coors - groggy and under round-the-clock nursing care at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. - had yet another paper to sign. "

By KELLY SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/14/05
The gift at the time, the largest ever received by a public university — came with strings attached.

In 2002, the University of Arkansas received a $300 million donation from the foundation of late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. But there was one condition: The university had to agree to keep Chancellor John White on board for at least five years.